Learning to spell…

…names of our family members. Now that Russell has mastered recognition of the alphabets, the next thing to do is to teach him phonics and spelling. He is not interested in route-learning and getting him to say something over and over again just bores him. Since he loves craft, I thought the easiest way to engage his interest would be getting him to do a craft that makes him learn to spell. I bought a tub of foam letters and we made door signs for himself, his sister and some of his good friends. It is pretty effective so far.

Snowman craft

Got this craft idea from crazymommy’s blog. We did this today for Russell’s show and tell.

It is fun and easy to make.

Finally something for his age…

He could watch Baby Einstein DVD over and over again when he was one. Very educational, but pretty boring to me. Then when he was two, he would only watch Barney, which was a life-saver to me when daddy was on business trips. Then for a long long time, he didn’t seem interested in children’s programs at all. He would watch foodtv with me and Science, National Geograhic and Military, MSNBC channels with daddy, but whenever we asked him if he wants to watch cartoons, the answer was always “No.” We wonder if that is normal. Our friends’ children are watching Dora, Nemo, Ice Age, Over the Hedge, Barney etc, our son watches Emeril Live, How it’s made, Mad Money, Deal or No deal, Paula’s home cooking, Future weapons…these programs are good, but I wonder if he learns what’s relevant to his age by watching them.

Guess how happily surprised I was when this week he suddenly became interested in Blues Clues and Caillou. I don’t believe in sitting him in front of the TV unmonitored for hours. But I do want him to be able to watch something that’s kiddy and also educational if he should so choose to watch some TV. Blues Clues program encourages kids to solve the ‘riddle’ by linking the clues, it is interactve and makes him put on his thinking cap. Caillou’s stories are very relevant to him, they teach simple everyday values, plus there are also book s on Caillou. This way he doesn’t just watch him on TV, being interested in this character also encourages him to read more books. So these two programs are totally approved by me.

Daddy’s on biz trip

Russell: Where is daddy?

Me: He’s in …..

Russell: Is he coming home tonight?

Me: No, he’s sleeping in a hotel right now. Not coming home tonight.

Russell: Why sleep in a hotel? We have beds at home? No…don’t do that…don’t sleep in a hotel.

*scratch my head*

Later in the evening…..

Russell: I miss my daddy….do you miss him?

Me: Of course! I miss him alot.

Russell: I love my daddy.

I can’t remember what else he said. That was so sweet of him, daddy’s going to melt when he hear this.

Back to the playgroup

We’ve been absent from the playgroup for more than a month. It’s good to be able to attend it again today. Russell looked forward to meeting his friends and I do too. Now that Netanya is doing better with her naps, I feel more comfortable shifting it a little earlier for just once a week to accomodate to the timing of the playgroup. We still get there late, but it’s better late than never I suppose.

Unlike her brother, Netanya is not shy at all with crowds and strangers. She settled right in the moment we reached there. She sat on my lap and listened to everyone sing during circle time, all the while beaming from ear to ear. Looks like she enjoys the company as much as her brother does. I’m so glad.